


Gentle Affection

by PotatoJesus



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Chocobros - Freeform, I love all my dorky sons, I mean, I'm Sorry, M/M, So I don't think I have spoilers, So I gave them this fluff-fic, So just minor caution, These aren't real tags, idk - Freeform, it's what i do, no major ones though, they're the best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-29 22:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10863474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotatoJesus/pseuds/PotatoJesus
Summary: A few moments in the life of the Chocobros, particularly the Gladnis half. Just fluff and men being dorks, not much else to say about this.





	Gentle Affection

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: In all honesty, I haven't played terribly far into the game, so I deeply apologize if I have somehow mischaracterized any one of the Bros. All commentary is welcome, so feel free to correct me on any errors I may have made! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy, and thank you for reading!

            For the first time in days, perhaps, someone had decided to turn off the music and drive in silence. Who it was, Gladio couldn’t say. He’d been dozing during the transition between gentle Rock (which he was partial to) and the lazy sounds of the forest. Going this fast, one could hardly make out the birdsongs, or the brush of individual leaves – instead he listened as the cacophony of noises descended so quietly upon them that it felt like a warm embrace. Not that he’d ever vocalize those thoughts. These were little slips borne from reading less-than intellectual novella over the years.

            Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he realized why the silence had persisted. Noct was resting against the car door in a manner so peaceful, one might worry how he’d perfected the art of sleeping anywhere and everywhere comfortably. Which did worry Gladio. The other day, the prince had managed to nod off on the railing of their hotel balcony, and he’d had to bodily drag him back in. To his dismay, Prompto _had_ noticed Noct’s predicament, but decided photography took priority over his friend’s life, leading to a rather long lecture. Speaking of the man, he had fallen asleep as well, though seeming markedly less restful. Gladio made a note to get Prompto some painkillers, since the angle of his neck was sure to cause problems for a day or two.

            “Awake, are we?”

            Gladio’s eyes drifted sleepily to the rear-view mirror, where he saw Ignis glancing back at him, his cheeks raised ever so slightly in what he knew to be a smile. “More or less. When did the kids knock out?”

            “About an hour or so after you did. I truly wish you hadn’t, though. We’re nearly to our destination and I worry you will all decide to have an adventure while I rest. And we don’t need a repeat of what happened the last time you lot went out at night.”

            Though he smiled, he made his tone purposefully defensive, “Hey, I brought them home safe and sound.”

            “You nearly got eaten by a daemon. Running away, screaming like a small child, is not conducive to my trust in your abilities as a guardian.”

            “But.” Gladio leaned forward, resting on the back of Prompto’s seat to get a better look at Ignis, “I had them running _ahead_ of me.”

            “My statement stands.”

            While he sounded disdainful, for a split second, Ignis’ lips had curved in the middle of his words, subtle enough you might miss it had you not known him for years. His eyes had glowed with mirth, though around them one would never note a change in expression. It was something Gladio loved about him, this talent for emoting privately, letting only a certain few see what he really felt like. Features tense from frowning during his long nap, he could feel every muscle relax as a tender smile washed over him, “I’ll keep the boys in the light tonight. Promise.”

            Shoulders descended marginally, a tendon in his neck stood out less starkly, and Ignis inclined his head, “Thank you.”

            For a moment, Gladio considered turning some music back on, but thought better of it. Instead, he gave Ignis a small pat on the back, “No. Thanks for driving us all the time, Iggy. You’re the best.”

            Rewarded with a guarded nod, Gladio smiled and shifted back into a more comfortable position. Right as he was about to fall asleep, however, he moved up and adjusted Prompto – a tad roughly, since he was actually having to take care of him like this – before lying back.

            Sometime later, eyes closed and the hum of the car lulling him to sleep, he heard Ignis say, “Sleep well, Gladiolus.”

            He managed a half-hearted grunt, and moments later the forest ambiance gave way to the sound of a river. Noct and Prompt were laughing in the background, doing gods know what as they fished, and Ignis was handing him a rag. “Clean up the stove a bit, would you Gladiolus? I have to prep the seasoning.” Gladio agreed only after Ignis kissed him on the cheek and shoved him, laughing, towards his work.

            A dream.

            He smiled, basking in the warmth of it.

 

* * *

 

 

            The surf came in blessedly cold, and Gladio wandered out a bit further till the low, noontime ripples washed over his knees. He stretched the ache in his shoulders from hours spent in the car seat, eyes scanning the blue horizon for anything interesting. Instead, he became distracted by the endless shimmer of the surface, letting it relax the ever-present unease in the back of his mind. Not surprisingly, his reverie wasn't meant to last, a shuttering sound just to his left denoting Prompto’s close proximity.

            “Man, Gladio, you’re like a model… I wish I could have a tattoo as epic as that. But I don’t – you know – have the expansive chest-thing going on.”

            Snorting, he turned and gave his best angle to Prompt. Even as he looked out over the beach, gaze locking onto the hazy figures of Ignis and Noct in the distance, he focused on the young photographer’s grin in his peripheral. “I can always take you to get one some time. The professionals know how to ink art for each body type, so it will look good no matter what excuses you make.”

            Prompt held silent for a bit – unnerving – before he replied slightly quicker than normal, “Eh, tattoos aren’t really my thing, you know? Doesn’t mean I can’t be jealous, though.” By the end of his sentence, his words had lost their odd edge, and his usual laugh had set him at ease again. “Do you think you could-” already ahead of him, Gladio switched his pose, and Prompt made a pleased sound as he adjusted his camera. “You and Ignis, bro. Are you sure you didn’t walk the runway at some point in time?”

            “Ah, yes. Just another trial one must pass in order to work closely with the prince: succeeding in a fashion show.”

            Prompto laughed at first, but while Gladio had stayed stoic for the photos, it had the unintended effect of fooling his friend. “Wait, you’re serious?”

            “Of course.” Rolling with it, Gladio contained the humor bubbling up in his chest, “It’s so the council can judge the control you have over body and mind, as well as your ability to do just about anything the Crown requests of you. And it doesn’t hurt to make sure the people surrounding the royalty know how to look epic.”

            A cry of disbelief emitted from Prompt, who proceeded to run back to the others, letting Gladio chuckle to himself as he waded to where they had gathered at the side of the pier. Noct frowned and nodded, as if he couldn’t believe Prompto hadn’t known this universal truth, while Ignis patiently watched his friend rant, expression revealing nothing. This gave Gladio time to walk up next to his friend on the sand and hear Iggy reply from above, “Well, of course. I remember that trial well. I came out of it relatively unscathed, since the focal point of my show was business-wear. Gladiolus’… well. I’m surprised he maintained such calm.”

            He grinned, loving that he had joined in. “Why do you think I don’t like to talk about it much?”

            “No, no,” Noct shook his head. “If I remember correctly, Gladio, you _chose_ that particular exhibit.”

            “What was it?” Prompto’s eyes were wide, staring at his friends in amazement. 

            Gladio glared up at Ignis, silently handing him the baton. His friend’s eyes bore into his, completely serious but with a hint of an unspoken challenge. And, with that beautiful accent, he replied, “Male lingerie.”

            Prompto fell to fits of laughter, which the others took as a chance to collect themselves. Gladio put on his best offended mien, “Excuse me. But it’s not that funny. I’ll have you know I only needed to go out once before completing the quest.”

            “W-what?” The boy stared at him, looking for signs of a lie.

            “You should expect nothing less of him,” Ignis shrugged.

            Noct nodded, though his cheeks were a bit red from holding in his laughter. He managed to vocalize a half-hearted agreement before finally doubling over.

            After a split-second of surprise, Prompto joined him, “Oh gods, you guys got me!”

            Ignis shot Gladio a smile as he chuckled, and warmth weaved along his ribs. He grabbed the base of the pier and hauled himself up, one hand instinctively seeking assistance. Noct stepped back, and Ignis smoothly leaned down to help him.

            When their hands touched, there was no spark or jolt. There was no overflow of feeling, no overwhelming emotion that told him what he already knew.

            It was just the heat of Iggy’s hand. It was the brush of callouses from years of training, cooking, and cleaning. It was that particular bump on his ring finger, forged from a lifetime of writing. It was the way their hands didn’t fit together perfectly. It was his grip being a little too tight, as if he were worried anything less would cause Gladio to drop.

            It was all these little, normal things that caused a tiny reaction within him. It was a gentle pang somewhere deep in his chest, so soft he often missed it.

            It was that subtle feeling, over all the others, that he only experienced with Ignis.

            When Prompto tried to scramble up, all three men dove to him, stabilizing him only long enough to pull his camera to safety before letting him hit the sand below. Ignis took the device and stood back while Noct and Gladio encouraged Prompt to keep trying to make the jump on his own, not noticing the small clicks behind them.

            That night, as Gladio scrolled through photographs, Prompto grinned and pointed out Ignis’ pictures. He wouldn’t know this till much later, but Prompt had found it endearing, to say the least, that the inexpert photos had an unconscious focal point. As they lounged in the hotel room, photography lessons were offered under the pretense that Ignis had a natural propensity for it.

 

* * *

 

             “Alright, frame it like this.” Hands mimicking a camera, Prompto directed Ignis as they stood over the desert landscape, facing the general direction Cindy resided. Or so Gladio knew, since Noct had leaned over and explained it to him a little while ago. Dutifully, Gladio took up Ignis’ portion of preparing tonight’s camp, and mentally checked off all the particular ways he liked the cooking equipment to be arranged. “You got it! Now just practice a bit more while I help the others – and no deleting anything.”

            As they continued setting up, Gladio caught Ignis’ eye looking around for subjects. The other man’s features twitched into a subtle smile that didn’t quite touch his lips, and he made a show of sizing Gladio up for a shot. Feigning a candid pose, he opened the grill and pulled out a spatula, acting the part of a cookout dad. Eventually, he grew concerned that Noct and Prompto didn’t seem to notice that he wasn’t _actually_ cooking, though he supposed they could be playing along with the joke. He flipped a fake patty, shooting a wink at Ignis as he did so.

            When Iggy actually laughed – a short, surprised giggle, likely from capturing that hilarious moment – Gladio missed the pang in his chest. He was too distracted by the fondness in his friend’s eyes as the man lowered the camera and gave him a look that he couldn’t fully decipher. It was no more than a moment, and it was gone so fast he could almost fool himself into believing it a fantasy. Yet then Iggy grinned and snapped his fingers, shouting “That’s it!”

            “What’s what?” Noct called out from behind the tent he was trying to set up with Prompt.

            “I’ve come up with a new recipe!”

            “Well,” Gladio dropped the ruse of cooking, walking over to his side, “Can’t wait to try it.”

            “Hey!” Noct frowned around the corner of the tent, “That’s my line! Say your own!”

            “Too bad.” Shrugging with an easy grin, he slung an arm over Ignis’ shoulders just to feel the way his hair brushed against his elbow, “So, what you got, Iggy?”

            “You.” He showed him the gallery of recent pictures, relaxing into his touch so he could see the camera better.

            “Certainly.” He said in a joking manner. “Oh, so that’s what made you laugh.” Caught in a wink, the Gladio in the photo looked absolutely ridiculous, like he couldn’t possibly stop himself from being a moron if he tried.

            “It’s a beautiful photo of you. I should frame it and send it to your father.”

            “Oh, yeah. Great idea. Though I’m sure Iris would find it priceless and hang it up with our family photos behind his back.”

            “Then I will most definitely send her a copy.”

            “You monster.”

            When Ignis turned to give him an offended look, the two men found themselves incredibly close; and yet, at the same time, Gladio found no discomfort in it. Unperturbed, Iggy just huffed and knocked his head playfully against his, careful not to get his glasses in the way, “Monster? From the man who posed like this? Certainly not.”

            Choosing to move before his friend might feel awkward, he casually stepped back and crossed his arms, “Please. Anyway, you need anything for your new recipe?”

            “Mm… Yes, actually. Here, let me write you a list.” Suddenly, he aborted the movement towards his notebook, turning it into a casual wave, as if to dismiss the idea. “Well, I suppose I should go with you, to make sure you get the right ingredients.”

            “And here I thought you trusted me.”

            “I do, I do. I simply don’t trust _myself_ not to change my mind on how to make this new meal.”

            “Well, by all means.” The excuse to spend more time together amounted to no more than their usual interactions.

            This, of course, was entirely all that they ever wanted.

 

* * *

 

            A few days later, still in the desert checking off a seemingly infinite list of small quests, Gladio found himself alone with Ignis at their base camp. Noct and Prompt had run off to do something for Cindy that required only two, leaving the older men to set up a lunch for when they returned, ultimately hungry. Currently stirring some soup as directed, he found his gaze returning more and more to Ignis, concern bubbling up in him.

            His friend was sitting by the fire, flipping through a stack of photos Prompt had printed out and told him to analyze. Brow drawn tight in a way that wasn’t his usual studious frown, with a free hand covering his mouth when it could to hide the tight lines there, Ignis was obviously unhappy about something. Misunderstanding, Gladio turned to him more fully after compulsively checking the soup, “Hey, you just started doing that a bit ago, you don’t need to glare so much at those. They’re better than anything Noct and I could manage, even if we practiced.”

            Startled, Ignis looked at him as if he’d been caught doing something wrong, only relaxing once he had finished speaking. “Ah. No, Gladiolus, that’s not quite…” He seemed hesitant, so Gladio checked the soup again to give him a moment. Finally, he heard his friend step up beside him, and with a sigh the photographs were handed to him. “What do you notice? About the photos I take?”

            It took Gladio longer than he would like to admit, but as he looked through the pictures, letting the other man take the soup from him, he began to notice what was happening. He lowered them to his side, watching Ignis for any sign of what he was actually feeling.

            To his surprise, he realized he could empathize with all the hesitant emotions Ignis was letting him see. And while he could safely say he understood them all, he could only put a name to one – Hope – and that was all he needed before replying, “Well, Iggy.” He clapped him on the back softly, “I see what you mean.”

            “You do?” The man looked back at him, seeming as though on the verge of a smile.

            “Yeah.” He let his hand rub a comfortable circle around his friend’s shoulders. “Is this good then? You want this?”

            “Only if you do.”

            “Did you not see how I looked at you in every single one of these?” He indicated the stack by waving the photos aggressively in Ignis’ face, making him lean back to avoid them brushing his nose. “Damn, Specs.”

            Ignis snorted, rolling his eyes, “Just-” he sighed in exasperation, “Don’t be so insufferable. Come here, then.”

            Ignis jerked his head to indicate what he wanted. Gladio followed his direction, but because of the slight nervousness he saw in his eyes, he dipped in slowly, only giving the man a kiss on the nose.

            To his credit, Ignis’ ears were the only things that grew a bit red, and he huffed, “Gladiolus, if you make me say it-” Gladio crossed his arms and arched a brow, daring him to make an actual threat. “Fine. I want you to give me a real kiss – just!” He stopped his advance with a hand on his chest, “Let me get the soup first.”

            Making a show of waiting patiently for Ignis to finish, he didn’t move a muscle until the man turned and extended a hand to him, beckoning him back. When he didn’t immediately return to Ignis’ side, the other man didn’t skip a beat, stepping right up to him and kissing him.

            It wasn’t perfect. There was an aggressiveness to hide any apprehension, and the height difference was just odd enough that they didn’t quite meet right the first time. Gladio noticed his own lips were a bit too dry, and Ignis’ glasses had eventually decided to join the party by slipping down his nose. When they pulled apart, all they could do was laugh about it.

            But they shrugged it off; they interacted as they always had, just with a few extra things they’d been wanting recently. A gentle brush of fingers against another’s back, a tender touch of hands as they talked, a soft kiss on the cheek when one had to leave to do something else.

            These things that were impossible to do before, seeming a bit larger than they should have been, were subtly integrated into their lives. They weren’t smooth all the time. A nose was bumped every now and then, and the hand holding had to be adjusted till both of them found a comfortable position, but it was pleasant none-the-less.

 

* * *

 

 

            When the others returned, they were too tired to notice, and no one but Ignis was a morning person, so it wasn’t until lunch the next day that Noct spoke up. “Yo, Iggy.”

            “Yes, Your Highness?” he said with a lacing of sarcasm.

            “You and Gladio have been kissing. And doing couple shit.”

            “Language. And yes, we have been.”

            Prompto nodded, “Awesome.”

            “Great. Now you’ll even kiss and hug like parents.”

            “Yup. Mom-dad and Dad-dad.”

            “Dude, that sounds weird.”

            Gladio chuckled, choosing to ignore the younger men as they continued their ridiculous dialogue. He wandered over to Ignis and kissed him on the temple, “Need help with food?”

            “Yes, thank you.” He earned another kiss and a place beside Ignis cutting vegetables. They simply touched shoulders as they worked. They didn’t share covert little smiles or snuggle or anything that one might read about in romance novels. Instead they shared puns, and they joked about this and that, laughing loudly and roughly shoving each other in good humor, just like they always had. When Gladio reached over to take Iggy’s hand during lunch, no one commented. It was as if the world was no different, as if the gentle contact between them was something that had been there before and was simply continuing to be.

            Gladio would have it no other way.

            Although, he would be lying if he said he didn’t make an exception when he called Iris to tell her the news. So what if he got just a tad… _giddy_ was the word Ignis used when he overheard the call, but that was a little over-kill. Pleased, more like. So what if he got a tad pleased discussing this with Iris? No one could possibly fault him for that, his sister could make anyone excited over just about anything. And if, when she showed up to celebrate their one-month anniversary, and Ignis seemed eager to help her make a cake that wasn't nearly small enough to celebrate such a short time… he was allowed to be pleased by that as well.

            After all, he was head-over-heels in love.

            You could let a man be a bit romantic, once in a while. 


End file.
